Smitten Book Club (23 page)

“So what are your plans today?” Lia bit into a crisp piece of bacon.

“Christmas shopping with Anna.” Anna Conners was one of her mom’s best friends. They both loved to knit—Anna owned the Sit ’n Knit in town—and they spent hours visiting together, catching up on kids and solving world crises.

“Oh, that will be nice.”

“I’d invite you to go with us, but since I’ll be shopping for you, probably not a good idea.” Her mom chuckled.

“Oh, I don’t know. That sounds like a great idea.”

Mother looked at her as though to see if she was serious, but sighed when she saw the smile on Lia’s face. “How about you?”

“I have shopping to do too, but I’m not really in the mood. I think I’ll grab a good book and a cup of coffee, tuck myself in a warm blanket by the fireplace, and read all day.” She might even explore the gentlewoman’s book.

“Sounds marvelous. The temperatures are expected to hover around the twenties today.”

“Brrr.” Lia heard her cell phone ringing from the living room. “Who would call this early?”

Mother laughed. “Not exactly early. It’s nine o’clock.”

“Right. For you, early is before roosters have their morning coffee.” She hurried to answer the phone.

“Hi, Elliana, this is Joey.”

Adrenaline surged through her. “Hi, Joey.”

“Hey, listen, Grace wanted to go ice skating this morning, and we thought you might like to join us.”

She thought of the warmth of the blanket, the fireplace, the hot coffee, her good book. Then she thought of Joey.

“That sounds like fun. When you leaving?”

“Is an hour too soon?”

“No, that sounds just fine.”

“Great. Oh, and bundle up. It’s cold out there.”

The ends of Lia’s scarf trailed to the ground while she strapped her feet into the stiff skates. She shivered and wondered, not for the first time, what had gotten into her to agree to this. She loved snow and winter . . . but from the inside looking out.

“You ready?”

Joey stood tall before her, his broad shoulders casting a shadow while she put the finishing touches on her skates. She rearranged her scarf, wrapping it around her neck once more and tucking it into her jacket, then carefully stood. Joey extended one gloved hand to her and one gloved hand to Grace.

Sounds of laughter filled the air. Children shrieked. Blades cut through the ice with a swooshing sound, leaving ice shavings in the wake. Some skaters fell, looking more like a clump of woolens on the ground than people. After several rounds, Grace spotted a friend from school.

She looked up at her dad.
Can I go skate with Peppermint, Daddy?

“Peppermint?”

“Yep, that’s her name,” Lia said. “And it’s not a nickname.”

Joey smiled. “Okay then.” He looked toward Grace. “Don’t you want to stop and have some hot chocolate?”

After I get
my
friend?
she persisted.

Joey grinned. “Okay, just stay where I can see you.”

Lia and Joey watched her skate toward her friend.

“How does a kid end up with a name like Peppermint?”

Lia smiled. “Maybe they like Christmas. Candy canes, all that.”

“Is she in your class at school?”

“Yes. Nice family.”

“You want some hot chocolate?”

“I’d love some. Maybe my fingers will have a chance to thaw. The air is so cold, I can’t feel my nose.” She laughed.

He frowned and reached out to touch her nose gently with his glove. “Poor Elliana. We’ve turned you into a Popsicle.”
His brief touch pushed back the chill. “Why don’t you just take a seat on this bench and keep an eye on Grace. I’ll go get us some cocoa. Sound good?”

“Sounds great.”

He looked at her a moment. Then he took off his glove and brushed the hair away from her eyes. Their eyes met; he said nothing. But his gaze went so deep, she began to feel uncomfortable. She shifted. He blinked.

“Um, I’ll be right back.”

Lia watched him go, wondering what that was all about.

Joey put his glove back on and headed for the concession stand. He pounded his fist into his other palm. Doggone his brother, putting thoughts in his head about Elliana. He couldn’t think like that. It would change their friendship and ruin everything.

Spending time with her deepened their friendship, but it scared him that something more was brewing in his heart. Could Sam and Suzie be right . . . did Elliana have feelings for him? He shook off the notion. She would have said something, shown him in some way. He wasn’t that stupid.

Was he?

By the time he got back with two steaming cups of cocoa, he had calmed down and put the matter to rest. Elliana was his friend, and that was the way he wanted to keep things.

“Here you are.” He passed her the cup and noticed how the cold had turned her cheeks a rosy red and put a sparkle in her eyes.

“Thanks so much. This is awesome.” She took a careful sip. “The girls are over by the tree, still skating.”

“Her legs are going to be sore in the morning,” Joey said, taking a careful sip from his cup.

“I don’t know. Kids are so resilient. Uh-oh, here they come. Looks like you may be making another trip for cocoa.”

Joey groaned.

“Hey, there’s a young man who goes to our school,” Elliana said. She called to him. “Aaron, can you help me out?”

The sixth grader glided up to her with ease. “Hi, Ms. Burton.”

“If we give you the money, could you get us two hot cocoas?”

“Sure.”

Joey pulled out his wallet. “And get one for yourself too.”

“Okay, thanks.” Aaron skated happily away.

“Good thinking,” Joey said. “We make a great team.”

Grace arrived then, skating into Joey and wrapping her arms around his waist.
Dad, can we have cocoa now?
she signed.

“Already taken care of.”

Once the drinks were delivered, Joey smiled, watching the girls as they enjoyed their warm cocoa. He was glad they had come.

Just then an old jalopy of a truck trundled down the road, rattling and hissing. All at once it backfired with a loud boom.

Grace screamed, dropped her cocoa, and threw her arms around Joey, her whole body quaking.

“It’s all right, honey. It was just a truck.”

Grace buried her face into her daddy’s coat and gripped him so tightly he couldn’t pry her lose.

“What’s wrong?” Lia asked. “Is she all right?”

“Her mother,” was all Joey had to say. “Sorry, but I need to get her home. Let’s go.”

One thing was for sure: Grace’s hearing was fine. But their fun day was over.

Differences of opinion can separate or strengthen. The wise woman can grow through adversity.

P
EARL
C
HAMBERS
,
The Gentlewoman’s Guide to Love and Courtship

CHAPTER FIVE

W
hile Lia’s class worked on writing letters, she graded papers at her desk. She glanced up at Grace, who seemed to have recovered from her scare the day before. The little girl’s pain ran deep. Lia’s heart squeezed. If only she could help her.

Stacking the students’ papers in a neat pile, she put them in a folder marked
Numbers
and placed it in her bottom drawer. Then she walked over to the blackboard, picked up an eraser, and started wiping down the board, ridding it of names, letters, and numbers. She sneezed for the umpteenth time today. She would like to have blamed it on the chalk dust, but she knew better. Her yearly cold had arrived. Normally it hit during Christmas break, but evidently she’d picked up a virus while ice skating.

By the time the bell rang, she was more than ready to go home. The children gathered coats, hats, boots, book bags,
and lunch boxes, then chattered and squealed their way to the buses. Once they were gone, Lia tidied her room for the evening. She turned to leave and spotted Joey in the doorway.

“Joey. What brings you here? You know Grace is already on the bus, right?”

“Right. I just wanted to talk to you. Do you have a minute?”

All she wanted to do was go home, put on her pajamas, and drink hot cocoa. “Sure. Take a seat.” She pointed to the chair beside her desk.

“Thanks. I wanted to apologize for ending things so abruptly after our skating on Saturday.”

“It’s all right, Joey. I understand why Grace was upset.”

He nodded. Silence hung between them as he studied his hands. “I’m going to take her away.”

“What?”

“Over Christmas.”

“But why?”

“To get her away from all the reminders.”

“But, Joey, Christmas is everywhere.”

“It looks a little different in Florida than it does in Chicago. Or Smitten.”

“So you won’t celebrate Christmas?” The thought nearly took her breath away.

“A day at Disney World would be a nice replacement, don’t you think?”

“But what about the Christmas Eve service at church? The live nativity? Joey, children love that. That’s the true meaning of Christmas. Do you really want her to miss out on that?”

Joey shrugged. “The fewer reminders of Christmas, the better.”

“Is this for you or for her?”

His eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched. “It’s for her. But can’t it be for me too? We’ve been through enough.”

“So that’s the plan? You’ll just shun Christmas every year?”

“I don’t know,” he snapped. “I haven’t thought that far ahead.”

“You can’t protect her from everything, Joey,” Lia said as softly as she could.

“We’re leaving on Saturday. Just wanted you to know when you didn’t see us around the apartment.” He stood and walked toward the door.

Lia couldn’t help herself. She called out, “Merry Christmas.”

He kept walking and didn’t turn back.

“Do you believe this, Heather? No Christmas for that sweet little girl? I’m just beside myself.” Lia wrung the napkin between her fingers as they sat at a scrubbed table at the Country Cupboard Café. The room was bright and cheery with white walls and tables, cherry-colored seats, and a cherry-colored counter with glass bowls displaying the day’s fresh doughnuts. Hamburgers sizzled on the grill. Fresh coffee was brewing and steamed the air with its aroma. Just being there normally perked Lia’s spirits, but not today.

Heather swallowed a bite of hamburger. “I don’t know what you can do about it, Lia. He’s probably just doing it this
year. Once the grieving eases, he’ll see the importance of having Grace at home for Christmas.”

“But she needs Christmas this year! It’s not her fault someone killed her mother. It’s horrible to even think about it. That’s why she needs to be surrounded with the joy of Christmas.”

“I guess we know now why he didn’t go to the lighting of the evergreen.”

“I guess.” Lia coughed and wiped her nose.

“Well, going to Disney World isn’t exactly a bad deal either. That’s a pretty happy place.” Heather took a drink of her iced tea.

Lia’s head drooped. “I know. I just wish he’d take her some other time.” Lia picked up the ketchup bottle and poured some over her french fries.